Carniepunk: Hell's Menagerie

Charlie Madigan #4.5

by Kelly Gay, Candace Thaxton (Narrator)

A Charlie Madigan short story—as it first appeared in the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance

Audiobook

First published December 15, 2014

About the author

Kelly Gay writes the critically acclaimed 'Charlie Madigan' urban fantasy series. Her work has been nominated for a double RITA, an ARRA, a Goodreads Choice Award, and landed on SIBA's Long List Book Award Finalists. Kelly is also a recipient of North Carolina Arts Council's fellowship grant in Literature. She is published in Young Adult fiction as Kelly Keaton.

Reviews

[Carolyn F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of the anthology Carniepunk.

Great, great story about Charlie's daughter. So good! *****

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a short story from Kelly Gay's Charlie Madigan's series. I believe the timeline is during the time where Charlie went to Elysia to rescue her partner, Hank. I thought the short story was good for those who follow the series but maybe not for newbies. It finally showed the whole spectrum of Emma's power, when it came to talk and 'manipulating' the paranormal creatures. I also liked the relationship between Emma and Rex here.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really short but then again, not a short story type.
I did like the added info on the relationship tween the Revenant, the girl & the Hell hound. Would've liked to see the parade to the portals.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really, really good short story. I've gotten a taste for this series with this story and now must read more. Charlie isn't actually in this story, but seems so cool from the hints of her, that I want to check out more of this world.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, I loved this story! The relationship between Rex & Emma was very sweet, although I'm pretty confused about Rex's relationship toward Emma and her mom (since I read this as part of the Carniepunk anthology and I have no familiarity with the Charlie Madigan main series). Since he's a spirit from Charbydon (a.k.a. hell) who is now inhabiting the body of Emma's late father, Will, I immediately assumed that he's Charlie (Emma's mom)'s new partner, especially since he considers himself Emma's protector & father figure. But then the second page of the story literally says that Charlie is in Elysia (a.k.a. heaven) seraching for her partner Hank??? (So... is he dead too? Or did he get kidnapped by angels or something, lmao? I guess I would find the answer to that if I read the main series, which I'm definitely tempted to now...) It just struck me as strange that Rex acts like Emma's second dad when Charlie already has a partner. I mean, are the two dudes going to butt heads over that? Kinda seems like a testosterone-fueled disaster just waiting to happen, haha. Emma also struck me as way too mature to be a 12-yr-old, but I guess she probably had to grow up fast since she has supernatural powers, she was apparently kidnapped before (I'm guessing that also happened during the events of the main series), and her mom seems like a dangerous person. I loved the ending, though. Her compassion for all the creatures in spite of the threat to her own well-being & Rex's reluctance to help her was very touching.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this short story packs a hell of a punch! It's part of the Charlie Madigan series and although I haven't read it yet, I still really enjoyed the story.

Emma is determined to rescue a litter of hellhound pups that were stolen, and when Rex finds out, he tries to stop her. Instead, they end up catching the eye of a creepy ringmaster who has plans of his own...

I was seriously hooked from the beginning and absolutely love this version of hell. The details were so vivid and the worldbuilding so natural that I had no trouble visualising everything. There's a lot of creepy, freaky stuff that goes on here.

Also, did I mention it's action-packed?

The story is told in the alternating POVs of Emma, a twelve-year old with a really cool power, and Rex, a former jinn and now human.

Terrific story that makes me want to get stuck into the series!

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Kelly Gay brings us a tale that takes us into Hell itself. Emma Madigan and her former jinn protector are on the trail of the hell hounds that she had been given special permission to raise. The carnival's ring master is the one that stole them and Emma who has a connection with all animals (Think Kara from the Dark Crystal) knows what she must do to free them. Emma goes and begins her plan but things happen and she has to go with the flow. This is a great short story and I highly recommend it for all Fantasy fans.

[Jules Poet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story/book is about a young girl with supernatural abilities to communicate with animals & influence them who has a protector and her mission is to save supernatural animals from a carnival. It was a good story.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting world and characters.

[Debbie Chittenden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Each and every story in Carniepunk is becoming increasingly more infuriating! This is no different. I'm at a loss for words.

[M. Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in my kindle library and though I had never read any of the books in the series of which I have since learned it belonged, I really enjoyed it. As short as this story is, you get a glimpse of a complex world(s) filled with weird creatures and strange beings. I look forward to explore the Charlie Madigan series.

[Gules · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/16/2015

[Stephaniec · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had constraint issues as a stand alone short tale